BRIDGEWATER — Even if the Somerset Patriots undergo a complete roster makeover for the second consecutive offseason, a facelift only will be included in the package if the team wants it to happen.

Third baseman Jeff Nettles, who was voted as the top player in franchise history, answered the question on everybody’s minds recently by saying he wants to return for a 10th season with the Patriots.

“An off-year in my play doesn’t change my desire or make me any less excited about playing baseball,” said Nettles, whose future plans have been an annual source of late-season speculation since 2009.

“I’ve been talking to some of the other core guys and if they come back I’d like to give it another shot.”

Nettles, 34, leads the Patriots in doubles (20) and RBI (73) and is tops in the Atlantic League in games played (136) but has seen his batting average dip in each of the past three seasons to the point where it hovered around .250 most of this season.

He also has seen his error total (26) climb to its high-water mark since 2004 while spending more time than usual at first base and designated hitter.

The Patriots, who played their second-to-last regular-season game Saturday against the Bridgeport Bluefish at TD Bank Ballpark, will finish with a losing record for the second straight year.

In Nettles’ first seven seasons in the white, blue and red uniform, the team made five playoff appearances and won three titles – with its feared slugger twice capturing Championship Series Most Valuable Player honors.

“If I was to come back and we won it again, that would be it for me,” Nettles said. “I haven’t said anything to anyone yet because I like to really let the season be my focus while we’re playing.”

Of course, contract talks are a two-way street, and Nettles’ return is less of a formality than in the past.

“It’s something the coaches will discuss in the offseason,” manager Sparky Lyle said. “He’s still my guy that I want up there in a big spot, but he didn’t swing the bat well this year and his defense suffered. He’s been unusually quiet in the leadership role, too.”

After finishing a franchise-worst 49-73 last season, the Patriots held onto Nettles despite parting ways with four other players who played integral roles in their championship history.

Several of the newcomers brought in to fill those shoes failed to make it through the season for various reasons.

“That’s part of it,” Nettles said when asked if he feels a responsibility to leave the franchise in the same winning condition that he found it in 2003. “I want to play with guys who want to be here, who know what it’s all about with the Patriots and who are going to be in the lineup every day.”

Changes in Nettles’ personal life – a recent engagement and an impending move of his offseason home from Tennessee to his native California – have done little to change his stance on returning.

“I’ve always been a single guy and now I have someone else to think about it,” Nettles said. “That said, she knows what I love to do – and that’s playing baseball and giving it another shot to see what I can do.”

The Atlantic League career leader in hits and RBI is five home runs shy of adding sole possession of that record to his collection. If and when he reaches the mark, it won’t prompt any rash announcements.

“I don’t want to put any extra pressure on myself by counting down games,” Nettles said. “I’ve been around baseball my whole life. I don’t feel like I’m the type of guy who needs to know for a whole year that this is going to be it.”